weird pop, and weird steering...?

Ok, today I got stuck in a little bit of mud. I had to be pulled out backwards 5-10 feet. After getting towed out, I took off and started to leave. After 15 feet or so I heard this loud pop. I kept driving and briefly checked under the truck to see if everything was ok when I stopped a few minutes later. I didn't see anything except some mud jammed between the skid plate and the rack-and-pinion stuff.

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Later on, while backing out of a parking space, I noticed my front tires were about straight on, and my steering wheel was 45 degrees off center or so. Once I started driving it went back to normal, but it will still do it if I stop and turn the wheel some. Is this normal?

 

dang, now i'm scared.

 

get it checked out asap. last thing you want to happen while driving down the interstate is for your steering let go

 

shoot

about a year ago I had the rack and pinion repaired, or something like that. I don't think it could've been anything I did in the mud. I turned the wheels in the mud back and forth some...

I checked the slop between the wheel and the shaft down at the firewall...there's a slight amount of movement. My steering wheel tilts if that helps any...been reading some stuff on steering problems, so I thought I'd add that in their.